


Okay

by quartetship



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Inspired by that Vlog thing Dreamworks did, M/M, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 23:03:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12156609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quartetship/pseuds/quartetship
Summary: Everything was okay.





	Okay

“You, uh… You okay there, mullet man?”

Lance followed Keith to his bedroom, eyes far too focused on him as Keith threw himself onto his bed. It was the worst-case scenario; Keith hadn't wanted _anyone_ to see him this way, but especially not _Lance._ Yet there he was, watching Keith intently, eyeing him with a strange mix of curiosity and pity.

It made Keith nauseous.

“Not now, Lance,” he replied, voice flat as he scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I'm fine, alright?”

“And I'm stupid, right?” Lance cracked. When Keith looked at him with narrowed eyes, Lance shook his head. “Yeah, no. At least not totally.”

Keith sighed, not looking for an argument. “You're not stupid at all--”

“Then don't act like I am,” said Lance. He leaned against the doorway of Keith's room, keeping the door open. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing. Seriously,” Keith promised when Lance didn't look convinced. “They were just having me do one of those video log things. It's… It was stupid. That's all.”

“Stupid enough to make you cry?” Lance wondered. Keith frowned.

“I wasn't crying!”

“Don't make me ask you if you think I'm stupid again, dude!” Lance said sharply, eyes drawn down like he was ready to fight. He let them flutter closed for a moment and regained his composure, crossing his arms over his chest as he let his back land hard against the doorframe with a huff. “You don't have to tell me what's wrong, I guess. Just don't lie to me.”

“I didn't,” Keith said, mirroring Lance from where he sat, arms crossed over his chest as well. “Not about the reason, at least.”

Lance's posture loosened a bit. He nodded, slowly, like he feared scaring Keith silent again. “Okay. So what happened in the video log?”

“I just. I got irritated and then I started over-thinking and it… I got upset. That's all.” Keith wanted that to be the end of the conversation, but Lance clearly had other ideas.

“What did they ask you about?”

“They didn't,” Keith groaned. “I just couldn't shut up once I started talking.”

“That's okay, you know,” Lance assured him. Keith looked at him like he might tell him to leave, but he never quite found the voice to. Instead, he just stared as Lance kept talking. “It's okay to talk when you need to. Maybe you've just been needing to talk for a while.”

Keith huffed. “Not like _that.”_

“Why not?”

“Because I didn't wanna cry. Not in front of everybody - not on camera. Now everybody will…” He trailed off, staring at his shoes for a long moment before shaking his head. “This whole idea was stupid.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Huh?”

“Now everybody will what?” Lance prompted. He moved to stand beside Keith's bed as he watched him, waiting. “What are you afraid of, Keith?”

“I don't…” Keith paused, shaking his head. “I'm supposed to be a _leader_ right now, y’know? I never wanted to be, but you know, that hasn't really ever mattered. I'm supposed to be strong. Crying in front of everybody over my mom bailing on me isn't exactly the picture of strength.”

“Maybe it is, though.” When Keith shot him an incredulous look, Lance only shrugged down at him. “I mean… I couldn't do everything you've done, even with the support of my parents. You're kind of a badass, Keith. All that does is prove it.”

“Says you,” Keith sighed. “My entire life, I've done my best to keep people at arm's length, because before I knew how to, everyone I cared about abandoned me. Crying about things nobody can change isn't gonna make people any quicker to listen to me. They'll see what a mess I am and leave.”

“Oh, okay. I see,” Lance said, though his tone was one of sarcasm. “You think the team is gonna bail on you because you had like _one_ human emotion. Gotcha.”

“Who are you to say they aren't?!” Keith demanded. “People have been leaving me my entire life. What makes you think a title on my shoulders is gonna make anyone stand by me any more than they ever have?”

Lance took a seat beside Keith on the bed, ignoring his resistance. “I mean… I will. Title or not.”

“You're just saying that,” Keith said with a roll of his eyes. “To make me feel better.”

“I mean yeah, that is the general idea behind this little pep talk,” Lance conceded. “But I also wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I mean - what do I have to gain from it?” He waited. Keith had no response. Lance nodded. “Exactly. Look, man. I've seen you at some pretty low points, and I haven't bailed on you.”

“Yet,” Keith said grimly. “Besides, Shiro has seen _everything_ from me, and he keeps disappearing.”

“Through no fault of his own, let's just slap that little disclaimer on there,” Lance reminded him. “And yeah, okay, Shiro's been around longer than the rest of us. But have you ever insulted him like you have me? Argued with him? Teased and made fun of him? Taken the _exact same crap_ from him that you dish out, and watched him stand by you anyway, and keep coming back for more?”

“This isn't about Shiro anymore, is it?”

“It never has been, Keith,” Lance admitted. “I just wish you could see how much the whole team cares about you. Me, included. Me, _especially.”_

“I…” Hesitation. Anxiety. Fear. Keith swallowed all of it. “I care about you too, Lance. I care about all of you guys.” Keith pulled his knees to his chest, letting his chin fall to rest where they bent. “That's why I don't wanna lose you.”

Lance nodded. His movements were slow, but too deliberate to mistake. He moved closer to Keith. “What can I do to show you that you're not going to?”

Keith shrugged, rolling one shoulder up to haphazardly wipe at the tears still drying on his face. “I don't know. Maybe… Maybe it'll take a while.”

“Maybe I'm okay with that,” Lance said, not bothering to look at him. Keith let his eyes fall closed just as he felt Lance's arm drape across his shoulders, heard his voice soften just a bit. “Maybe I'll be here for it, no matter how long it takes.”

“Maybe I hope you mean that,” Keith muttered. He let Lance's hold pull him closer, like gravity acting outside their control. “And maybe that scares me.”

“It's okay to be scared,” Lance said. “But when you are, just remember that you have people who care about you. Humans, aliens, all kinds of folks. People that won't hate you for being upset.” He put his chin atop Keith's head. At any other time, Keith might have pushed him away, might have shoved and screamed and shouted just for the sake of it. In this moment, though, he had no need for such hysterics. Lance's voice was oddly soothing, calming in a way that brought Keith back to a center he scarcely knew he had. He drew a long, deep breath and sighed, letting Lance continue talking.

“So, a bad thing happened just now. It was uncomfortable and lame and you hated it. You got mad. You cried. It's okay. You're allowed to feel things. You've got a weird little space family that's gonna love you no matter what.”

Keith sat silent for a moment, leaning into Lance's hold and listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat as it played backup to the soft melody of his voice. The words he spoke resounded in Keith's mind, sounding sweeter with every echo. “Family,” he repeated at last. He could hear Lance smile in response.

“That's what we are now, my friend. Take it or leave it.”

“I'll take it,” Keith breathed. “And hopefully keep it.”

“No doubt about it,” Lance said with a gentle squeeze. He ran fingers through Keith's hair in a lazy sort of swirl. “Now, why don't you do some more talkin’, huh? It'll be good for you. Plus, I've got a free evening. I can sit and listen, maybe do something with your terrible hair.”

“No scissors,” Keith mumbled, the only reply he could think of. Beside him, Lance snorted.

“No promises.”

\--

The rest of the evening was pleasant, as well as Keith could remember. Lance didn't push him to talk about anything, only sat back and listened as Keith began chipping away at the walls that surrounded him. They were walls he had built himself, labored at fortifying his entire life. They would not come down in a single evening, but Lance gave him reason to believe that he would have as many more as he needed to work at weakening them. To that, Keith was looking oddly forward.

He wasn't sure exactly how the night ended, save for the fact that it seemed like it never really did. All he knew for sure was that when images of his mother, his father, his frightening and confusing childhood haunted him in sleep, he awoke to a soft voice reassuring him.

“Shhhh. It's okay. You're okay.”

“Lance?” Keith croaked, blinking himself fully awake. Beside him, Lance nodded.

“Yeah, it's me. We fell asleep in your room.” Touching the wall beside him, Lance brought up the lights in the room. It was just enough light to see by, but it was more than enough to see that neither of them had so much as taken their shoes off, much less changed clothes before falling asleep there on Keith's bed.

Keith rolled his neck to loosen it, hearing it crack as he moved.

“Mmkay.”

Lance looked at him for a moment, like he was studying him. “You want me to go back to mine?”

“Not really,” Keith yawned, letting his head fall back to the pillow where it had apparently landed hours before. Lance chuckled.

“Fair enough. You alright?”

Keith nodded into the pillow. “Bad dream.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Lance asked. Keith could feel a hand on his shoulder, moving as if to smooth out lines in the fabric of his shirt. He didn't bother shrugging away from the touch. He was almost glad for it.

“Nh. Just. Sad stuff. Family,” he sighed. Lance hummed.

“Mm. Well, remember what I said earlier, okay?” He prodded Keith gently in the side. His touch was affectionate. Familiar. Fond. “Weird little space family is right here. Everyone is safe. You're safe. It's all gonna be okay.”

“Okay,” Keith replied, automatically. He still wasn't sure if he believed it completely, but it felt nice to hear it from his own lips, as well. He breathed in the scent of another person so willingly close to him and exhaled on a satisfied sigh, content for the moment. “G’night, Lance.”

Beside him, Lance was still for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, he reached back to the wall again, dimming the lights as he stretched to find comfort again. Keith couldn't be sure, but the press of his lips to the top of Keith's head felt longer than it needed to be. That was okay, though.

Everything was okay.

“Goodnight, Keith,” Lance replied at last. He let an arm fall across Keith's back and sighed, a quiet, happy sound. It was one Keith could surely get used to. “Sweet dreams.”


End file.
